Rajinjkanth will not attend Modi’s swearing-in ceremony

When they met few months ago it was big news. The meeting
between Narendra Modi and Tamil superstar Rajinikanth captured headlines and
was a big talking point on social networking sites. But looks like their next
meeting will not be taking place anytime soon. Rajinikanth was invited to
attend the swearing-in ceremony of Modi as Prime Minister. But sources close to
the superstar have revealed that most likely Rajinikanth will give the function
a miss. The sources claim that the actor is out of town and busy with his work
and thus will not be able to attend the anticipated event, held at Rashtrapati
Bhaban. But there are some contrary reports as well.

During the early phase of his election campaign, Narendra
Modi made time and visited Rajini at his residence. Therefore it was likely that
the Tamil superstar will attend the swearing-in if Modi became PM. But a
hardliner student outfit staged a protest outside Rajinikanth’s house Sunday
night demanding that the actor skip the event. Their main point of objection
was the presence of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa during the
swearing-in ceremony. Not just fringe groups, but all the major political
parties of Tamil Nadu, the ruling party AIADMK, the main opposition DMK and
others, have protested against the invitation of the Sri Lankan president.

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Miss Jayalaitha will also
skip the event despite sharing a cordial relation with Mr. Narendra Modi. Rajinikanth is a Tamil cultural icon and thus
he will not go against any popular sentiment. Ties with Sri Lanka have always
been a tricky matter for the Indian government. Being a neighboring country,
Sri Lanka cannot be ignored completely. But Sri Lanka has a dark history of
violence against Tamil people on its soil. There is also the long history of
bloodshed by the Tamil terror group LTTE, including killing of former Indian PM
Rajiv Gandhi.

Many in India are against close ties with Sri Lanka. It will
be interesting to see how the new PM handles the delicate issue. As per latest
reports, Mahinda Rajapaksa has already arrived in India for the grand event.
Leaders of all SAARC nations have been invited for the swearing-in ceremony of
Narendra Modi who has clearly stated that he is in favor of friendly relations
with neighboring countries that benefit both countries. Nawaz Shariff, prime
minister of India’s most volatile neighbor, Pakistan will also be present for
this function which takes place on Monday evening.